The Cave
by Ketchum
Summary: This is the tale of how Ash caught his articuno with the ordeal of a cave! aamrn


THE CAVE  
  
Ash sat under a tree protected from the sun's heat. His Pikachu played in the lake with Misty and her water pokémon while Brock was in town trying to get a date with the Nurse Joy they had encountered when healing their pokémon that morning. Ash polished the pokéball in his hand, his newest capture, the legendary Articuno.  
The previous day he had gone into a nearby cave with Brock and Misty to seek shelter from the rain. As they waited they heard loud echoes and noises coming from further in. Worried that someone was trapped, the travelers walked in deeper only to find the infamous Team Rocket.  
"Prepare for Trouble!" Jessie shouted.  
"Make it double!" James expanded.  
"Enough of your stupid motto, was that you making all the noise?" Ash asked.  
"What noise?" James asked.  
The group fell silent and the echoes were heard once more. "Whoever that is may be in trouble," Misty said.  
"Prepare for trouble!" Jessie started.  
"Shadup" Meowth said.  
"I'm scared," James said.  
"Quit being a baby," Misty said.  
The group walked further into the cave, it became darker they further they walked. "I wish I still had Charizard to help us out in here," Ash said. He had let his Charizard free in a pasture a few months before, and just when it was starting to obey him too! The noises grew louder.   
"Ash, maybe we should turn back," Misty said.  
"We can't, whoever that is may need our help," Ash argued. Deep down Misty knew he was right, but the air was growing colder by the second and she desperately wanted to leave. All of a sudden there was a crash and Ash moaned.  
"What happened?" Brock asked.  
"I ran into something," Ash said as he reached for the wall to help him get up. His hand fell onto a lever type thing and he slipped pulling it down. He prepared for the worst, but instead the rock in front of him began to pull out of the way. The group stood wide-eyed at the sight before them. There were blue bird-type pokémon flying all around an ice crystal-like cave. Ash took out his pokédex, "Articuno, one of three legendary bird pokémon. Many tales surround the legend of these three birds, although no human has actually seen one."  
"We're the first people to see these Articuno!" Ash shouted.  
"And let me guess, you're going to capture one," Misty said.  
"Exactly," Ash said, "Pikachu I choose you!" Pikachu jumped off his master's shoulder and ran up to an Articuno.  
"That's the Pikachu we need to capture!" James shouted.  
"Why capture Pikachu when we can steal all of these legendary pokémon?" Meowth pointed out.  
"That's a really cool idea Meowth!" James said.  
"Pikachu Thunder shock!" Ash shouted. The little Pikachu sent an electric bolt toward the Articuno that reflected it. The electric bolt burst a hole in the ceiling.  
"Shocking," Misty said.  
"I guess we need a new plan," Ash said.  
"So what's the plan for this one Jessie?" James asked.  
"Meowth?" Jessie asked.  
"Don't look at me, I have brain freeze!"   
"I have an idea!" James said pulling a flame-thrower out from behind him.  
"Where'd you get that?" Jessie asked.  
"I always keep a spare, just in case," James said pulling out two more handing them to Jessie and Meowth.  
"But don't you remember what happened when we tried to cool a volcano?" Meowth asked.  
"Yes Meowth, but this is the opposite!" The rockets sent their fire blasts all over the cave while the trio ducked and shouted. James' gun hit an Articuno, which came tumbling down to the ground like a bird hit with a stone. The cave began to crack, just like the volcano. The ground began to split in two. A gush of water came up through the ground sending Team Rocket flying out of the cave.  
"Looks like team rocket's freezing up again!" They said as the disappeared. Meanwhile, Brock and Ash ran to the fallen Articuno.  
"We should take it to the pokémon center and have it healed," Brock said.  
"Why don't I capture it and then we can use a potion on it?" Ash suggested.  
"Yea, Ash, whatever you do, do it quick, look!" Misty said from the other side of the cave. Ash looked, the ground was beginning to split all over the place!   
"Stupid Team Rocket," Ash muttered as he took a pokéball off of his belt. "Pokéball go!" he shouted. The pokéball closed around the Articuno and rocked back and forth whole the red light on the front of it blinked. Then it stopped. Ash ran to the pokéball and held it in his pose. "Alright! I caught Articuno!" Just then there was a scream from where Misty was standing. But she wasn't there!   
"Misty!" Ash shouted.  
"Ash! Help!" Misty shouted back. They ran over to where they heard her voice. The ground had cracked and Misty fell through. She was holding onto a rock for dear life.   
"Don't worry Misty, we got ya," Brock said.   
Misty's felt her hand beginning to slip, "Hurry!" she shouted.  
Ash reached onto his belt to get his Bulbasaur, but he didn't have a pokéball! "WA!" He shouted. Then he remembered he left his pokémon with his backpack at the entrance to the cave. Ash reached into the crack, "Mist give me your hand," he said.  
"But if I let go then I'll fall!" She shouted.  
"Just trust me," he responded. Ash reached down as far as he could and held his hand out to Misty. She took one of her hands off the ledge and quickly grasped Ash's. "Now the other one," He said. She did the same. Ash began to lift her up, he got her to where she could grab onto the top of the crack and pull herself out. All of a sudden he was hit in the back of the head, and tumbled forward into the crack.  
"Ash!" Misty and Brock screamed. Misty pulled herself out of the crack and looked down. "We have to find him Brock!" she shouted.  
Meanwhile Ash lay unconscious on a ledge about half way down the rocky side. He had hit his head pretty hard.   
"Misty one of us is going to have to go down there and get him," Brock said. They sat in silence a moment.   
"I'll go," Brock said.  
"No, I will," Misty said.  
"It's not safe Misty," Brock said.  
"I said I'd go!" Misty shouted. Before Brock had a chance to answer, Misty turned herself around and began to lower herself down the cliff. She lost her grip and began to fall. "Brock!" She shouted as she fell.   
"Misty!" he shouted back.  
"Pika-pi!" Pikachu shouted.   
Misty landed on her feet on a ledge about halfway down it was rather long. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. She had hit her arm pretty bad and it was bleeding. "Oh great," she said. Then she noticed Ash lying on the ground, she walked over to him, he was unconscious.   
"Ash," she said, just to be sure, he began to stir. She knelt down beside him. He opened his eyes.  
"Misty?" he said looking dazed and confused.  
"Your okay!"   
He noticed the cut on her arm, "Your arm," he said.  
"It's fine, we have to find a way out of here," They both looked up, it was much too high to climb out. "But how?" Misty leaned back on her arms, and a sharp pain shot up the left one. She pulled it back and cradled it as tears welled up in her eyes. "Owe," She said without feeling.  
"You okay?" Ash asked.  
Misty turned away from Ash so he couldn't see her cry.  
"I'm fine," She said with a bit of an angry tone.  
"Brock!" Ash screamed. But there was no answer. "Pikachu!" He shouted again.  
"They can't hear us Ash," Misty said.  
"How are we going to get out?" Ash asked.  
'What a stupid Question, he thinks I'll know the answer? Misty thought' "I don't know!" she snapped.  
"This is all your fault!" Ash shouted.  
"My fault? I'm not the one who had to catch the pokémon! You're probably going to release it anyway!"  
"Shut up!"  
"You!"  
"You!"  
"Ash, shut up, okay? My arm hurts and I'm sick of fighting with you!"  
"Well you started it!"  
Misty ignored him and went to the other side of the ledge. 'Misty not wanting to fight? There must be something really wrong!' She sat next to the wall with her back to Ash. She leaned her head up against the rocky surface and shut her eyes. Ash could be a real jerk sometimes.  
"I wish Brock were here," Ash muttered, loud enough that Misty could hear.  
'Well he's not!' Misty thought. They sat there a few minutes in silence trying to think of a way they could get out. Then Misty felt a hand on her shoulder it made her jump.  
"Misty?" Ash said.  
"What!" Misty quietly responded.  
"I'm Sorry," 'Ash apologizing? Well that's a first!'  
"Me too," Misty said back. She turned so her back was to the wall, Ash sat next to her.  
"So how did you get down here?" Ash asked.  
"I fell,"   
"But I thought I got you out,"  
"You did, but," she paused.  
"But what?"  
"When me and Brock had to decide who would come get you, I came, and I slipped,"   
"Oh,"  
There was silence for a few minutes.  
"How are we gonna get out of here?"  
Meanwhile Brock and Pikachu stood above the two of them shouting, obviously they didn't hear their calls. "We have to go get help Pikachu," Brock said,  
"Pika, Pika," Pikachu replied  
The two of them turned to walk out of the cave. And run to town to get Officer Jenny, but just as they began to run out, Team Rocket fell back through the hole, which they had left through.   
"Looks like Team Rocket's returning once again!" Meowth said.  
"Hey where are the other twerps?" Jessie asked Brock. Brock just pointed down the crack.  
"This is the perfect chance to capture Pikachu!" James said.  
"But we should help the twerps out just this once," Jessie said. The other two agreed.  
Meanwhile down in the hole, "Do you think Brock will save us?" Misty asked.  
"Definitely!" Ash replied, he looked at her arm, "We have to do something about that arm," Misty took her backpack off and rummaged through it, Togepi was in it's pokéball in her backpack, it was now old enough to stay alone in one. She reached down to the bottom and found a washcloth. She pulled it out and wrapped it around her arm. That should work for now, she said as she held it into place. She closed her nap sack back up and lay back on the rock, looking up toward the opening.   
"What would they tell my mom and your sisters if we were stuck here forever?" Ash asked.  
"I don't know, the headlines would say 'Misty and Ash died from boredom on a ledge no human has ever seen' and since no human ever saw it, they might think we never existed," Misty rambled.  
"That's real comforting," Ash said. Misty looked at Ash.   
"Either that or we killed each other before they found us," Misty giggled.  
"Or Pirates found us and made us clean the decks," Ash said.  
"And then we were saved by Tuxedo Mask!"   
"Tuxedo Mask?"  
"He's this guy on a TV show I used to watch,"   
"Is he a pirate?" Ash asked.  
"No, he's a guy who wears a tuxedo and kills people with roses,"  
"Real manly," Ash said back. Misty put her head back on the rock and looked up. They were silent for a few minutes more. All of a sudden Ash appeared in Misty's view, he was looking her right in the face. "Do you hate me?"  
Misty was surprised at the question, "What?" Ash sat back down.  
"Do you hate me?" he asked again. Misty didn't know what to say, she had always had a thing for him but never let that get in the way of the fights they had. Was he serious?  
"Why would I hate you?" she asked.  
"Because we always fight,"  
"So?"   
"And because I broke your bike,"  
"Oh yea, I forgot about that,"  
"So do you hate me?"  
"No, do you hate me?"  
"No,"   
They sat there a long time, in silence. Misty drifted off to sleep and dreamed that they were saved. Then she woke up, disappointed to find herself in the same place with the same pain in her arm.   
"Ugh," she moaned.  
"You okay Misty?" Ash asked.  
"I'm fine, how long have we been here?"  
(I know he doesn't have a watch in the anime, but just pretend!)  
"Like 4 hours," he said.  
"Four hours!" Misty shouted, "What's taking them so long?"   
Meanwhile with the others, "James! That won't work, it's not long enough!" Jessie shouted.  
"It's everything we have!" Brock shouted, he was getting really impatient, four hours had past and he still had no way of reaching Ash and Misty. Just then Meowth and Pikachu came running back with some more rope from the hot air balloon.  
"This just may be enough," Jessie said as they tied it onto the rest of the rope they had. Brock took one end and Jessie took the other, they both pulled to make sure it was sturdy enough, when they pulled it came apart.  
"James! You didn't tie it right!" Meowth shouted. They began to gather the strewn rope to tie it back together this would take forever! 'All the more time Ash and Misty can kill each other' Brock thought.  
Back on the ledge Misty and Ash were sitting waiting. "Do you think they'll find us?" Misty asked.  
"Like I've said a million times yes!" Ash said. Misty's eyes were falling heavy again but she didn't want to fall asleep. She stood up and began to walk around. She would let Togepi out but it may fall of the edge and she didn't want that to happen. She paced back and forth holding her arm. Then she sat back down. How much longer would they have to be here?   
"Ash?" she said softly.  
"Yea?" he responded.  
"If we don't get out of here, I just want you to know,"   
"We're going to get out of here!"   
"Keep convincing yourself of that Ash," Misty said.  
"What were you going to say?"  
"It's not important anymore,"   
"Tell me!" Ash demanded. Misty didn't respond.  
Ash didn't want to argue he shut his eyes to take a rest. A few minutes later, "Ash?" she asked. He didn't respond. "I love you," she whispered. Ash's eyes began to flutter open. Misty sat there in horror, had he heard her? He didn't say anything. She pretended as if nothing happened.  
"I love you too, Misty" Ash whispered, loud enough for Misty to hear. Misty couldn't believe what she had just heard. She just sat there staring into space. They sat in silence, while the group above them worked on tying the ropes together.  
"I got it!" Brock said, as he tied the last two together.   
They did the same test as before and this time it held. They all tied Pikachu to the end and began to lower him.   
Ash and Misty just sat there in silence, "Well that's always nice to know," Misty said after about five minutes of tension.   
"Yea," Ash said.   
"Do you see them Pikachu?" Brock shouted down.   
"Pika! (No!)"  
They pulled Pikachu back up and walked a little further down to try again.   
Ash reached over to look at Misty's arm. He pulled the washcloth off and looked at it, it was really bruised by now. "That's got to hurt!" he said.  
"Yea," she replied, cringing as he moved her arm around.  
"It might be broken Misty," Just then it hit Ash, his new pokémon! He could give it a potion and it could fly them out.  
"Misty! Do you have any potion in your bag?"  
"Yea, but that won't help my arm,"  
"Not for you, for Articuno!"  
"Yea! We can, you know, Wow! You actually came up with an idea!" Misty said surprised.  
"I was thinking we didn't have potion and it was too week, but when we heal it we can fly out on it!" Ash said, happy that he came up with an idea. Ash called out his Articuno while Misty searched for the potion. They put the potion on the badly injured bird.   
"That should take a few minutes," Ash said. They stood and waited as the pokémon had the life in it refueled. Ash hopped on the ice pokémon's back and pulled Misty up in front of him. "Articuno take us to the top!" he shouted. They slowly began to rise, about halfway up they came to a Pikachu on a rope. Ash grabbed the pokémon as they came to the top, obviously the rope wasn't anywhere near long enough. They came to the top and Articuno gently let them down. Brock and Team Rocket ran over to them.  
"Wow! I thought we'd never find you!" Brock shouted.  
"Same here," Misty said. He noticed her arm, and being the doctor that he is, reached into his backpack and pulled out a bandage.  
"Is it broken Brock?" Ash asked.  
"Since when do you care about Misty?" Brock asked, "Just kidding, No, but we should have Nurse Joy look at it anyway." They all hoped on Articuno's back and began to fly out.  
"What about us?" James asked.  
"You can walk!" Ash shouted back. Just then an Articuno came over to them and hit them with its wing sending them flying past Ash and company. "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" {Ping} Soon they were at the pokémon center, where Brock hit on Nurse Joy who bandaged Misty's arm. They spent the night there and they next day were on their way.   
(And like I was saying before)  
About mid day, Ash sat under a tree protected from the sun's heat. His Pikachu played in the lake with Misty and her water pokémon while Brock was in town trying to get a date with Nurse Joy. Ash polished the pokéball in his hand, his newest capture, the legendary Articuno. Misty jumped out of the water and came over to Ash. "Aren't you going to come in the water?" she asked.  
"Nah," he replied, as she pulled him up and over to the lake.   
"It's really nice,"   
"Nah," he said, "I don't have my bathing suit." They were right next to the lake. That doesn't matter she said, with an evil look in her eye. The next thing he knew he was up to his waist in frigid water. Misty jumped in after him.   
"It's cold!" he shouted.  
Misty took his hat off and tossed in onto the land, she grabbed him around the neck and pulled him down into the water. He struggled to break free but it was no use, in seconds he was under water. They emerged laughing, "I'll pay you back for that!" he put his hands around her waist and pulled her closer. They stood there for a moment just staring at each other before Ash let go and put his hands on her shoulders dunking her head under water. Misty came back up and threw her arms around his neck once more.   
Just then they heard a voice "I guess I know what you two do when I'm not around!" Brock shouted, laughing hysterically. Ash jumped out of the water.   
"I guess you do!" he said pushing poor defenseless Brock into the lake. Misty jumped up and put her head on Ash's shoulder.  
"He deserved that," she replied.  
Brock came back up quickly and stood in front of the two of them. "It's freezing!" He thought for a moment, "You mean? You two?"  
  



End file.
